Hand harmonica



Jan.3o,196s K. SCHRER Em. 3,365,995

HAND HARMONICA Filed Aug. 2'?, 1965 Unite The present invention relates to musical instruments.

More particularly, the present invention relates to handoperated musical instruments of the accordion-type wherein at least one resonance chamber is provided.

It is conventional in instruments of this latter type to provide within the housing of the instrument a supporting wall which if it carries reeds will also carry key-operated Valves to control the passage of the air past the reeds. While one or more walls of this latter type may form part of a resonance chamber, the walls of the latter chamber which do not carry the reeds or valves are conventionally quite massive so as to occupy space in the interior of the instrument and be situated between the cover and other walls of the instrument. Furthermore, it is already known to mount these latter massive walls for turnable movement so as to be capable of altering the volume of the resonance chamber or to increase or decrease the size of openings which are distributed along the instrument and communicate with the resonance chamber.

In an attempt to increase the range of musical tones which can be achieved from the instrument, it is known to provide the instrument with additional walls formed with openings as well as to arrange openings in the cover which forms an outer housing wall of the instrument, and with an arrangement of this latter type the cover can carry a plurality of small resonance chambers formed, for example, by suitably slotted tubes which however cannot provide the operator with any special effects since their operation cannot be controlled.

Other expedients are known, such as using the outer cover of the instrument for increasing the tones which can be derived from the instrument.

Furthermore, it is conventional to provide interior chambers which control the air ow in the instruments so that the air will always move in the same direction with respect to the reeds. This latter type of construction has nothing whatever to do with the present invention since it relates only to control of the direction of air flow and requires suitable reversing valves at least two of which are provided for each resonance chamber so that during operation of the instrument at various locations openings will be alternately opened and closed so that with this arrangement it is unavoidable that different resonance properties are produced and the control of the openings is not regulated =by the operator inasmuch as the latter control is automatically derived from the direction of movement of the bellows.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide for a musical instrument of the above general type a far simpler and far lighter construction than has heretofore been used while at the same time increasing the possible range of tones which can be achieved from the instrument.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide for a musical instrument of the above type not only a conventional resonance chamber having openings controlled by key-operated valves, but also at least one additional resonance cham-ber which can be controlled by the operator for the purpose of increasing the range of possible tones which can -be derived from the instrument.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a musical instrument of the above general type whose components can be easily and conveniently assembled while maintaining wherever required the necessary airtight mountings.

It is in particular among the objects of the invention to provide for an instrument of the above type a second resonance chamber whose construction and arrangement with respect to a conventional resonance chamber is such that the tones derived from the conventional resonance chamber can have their coloring changed in the most surprising manner by the second resonance chamber so as to produce very noticeable effects such as suppressing or amplifying certain overtones, for example.

It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide for an instrument of the above general type an arrangement Where the structure occupies space which in any event is available in the interior of the instrument so that in this way the exterior configuration of the instrument can be maintained at substantially the conventional appearance to which the musician is accustomed.

One of the more detailed objects of the present invention is to provide for a musical instrument of the above type a second resonance chamber provided with a structure which enables it very eiciently to receive and act on air which has moved past the reeds and valve-controlled openings of a first, conventional reasonance chamber.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a structure where use is made not only of the space within the conventional housing of the instrument but also where use is made of the housing itself to form part of the structure of the invention.

rlfhe objects of the invention also include the provision of a structure which enables the musician to achieve from the instrument at the option of the musician a wide variety of musical effects.

Thus, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide a musical instrument which gives the operator the option of using or not using additional resonance chambers.

It is furthermore an object of the lpresent invention to provide a structure where the operator has the option of at least partly eliminating the influence of the conventional resonance chamber so as to vary the manner in which it cooperates with the additional resonance chamber of the invention, so as to achieve in this way unusual musical effects which heretofore could not be achieved.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a structure where the number of tone-producing units, such as reeds and valves, is reduced without, however, reducing the range of effects which can be derived from the instrument.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a structure which can be easily and conveniently mounted even within relatively conned spaces in the interior of the instrument.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to pro vide `for the second, additional resonance chamber of the invention a volumetric relationship with respect to the first, conventional resonance chamber which will be capable of achieving particularly effective results.

Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide a structure enabling the additional resonance chamber of the invention to be rendered operative or inoperative so as to provide at least a doubling of the tone coloring which can be achieved from the instrument, as compared with what -can be achieved from a conventional instrument.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a structure where the same range of musical tones can be 3 achieved with less than conventional structure so that not only is there a saving in cost but also the weight of the instrument is substantially reduced, which is of course a considerable advantage for the musician.

Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide for an instrument of the above type the possibility of achieving from a given extent of bellows operation a greater range of musical tones than has heretofore been possible, so that with the present invention the requirement of physical energy to operate the instrument is greatly reduced. In other words. with the instrument of the invention the bellows can be operated to achieve a given musical effect after deflection of the bellows to an extent less than is required with a conventional musical instru- -ment to achieve the same effect.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided an accordion-type of musical instrument which includes in its interior a pair oi' mutually spaced, opposed walls which face each other and define between themselves at least part of a first resonance chamber. One of these walls is formed with a plurality of openings and carries a plurality of key-operated values for controlling the latter openings, respectively. The other of the walls forms part of a second resonance chamber and is formed with a plurality of openings which are respectively aligned with at least some of the above valves. A control means is provided on the other wall for controlling the openings thereof, so that in accordance with actuation of this control means air `which moves past the openings of the first wall can be received in the second resonance chamber to achieve the effects of the present invention.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of the application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic transverse sectional illustration of one possible embodiment of a musical instrument according to the invention, FIG. 1 showing only that part of the instrument which includes the structure of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic transverse section similar to FIG. 1 but of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse section schematically illustrating a third possible embodiment of a structure according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a transverse schematic sectional illustration of that part of a musical instrument which includes yet another embodiment of a structure according to the invention; and

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates, in a transverse fragmentary section, yet another possible embodiment of a structure according to the present invention.

All of the above figures are taken transversely to the long side of the accordion. Various known accessories for accordions are not illustrated, and also the structure for actuating the slide valves so as to prevent passage of air past the reeds is not illustrated inasmuch as such structure is -well known and is also used for controlling the slide valves in such a way that the openings leading to the resonance chambers are controlled.

Thus, the slide valves are only schematically illustrated in the drawings. The reeds are also schematicallly illustrated and the reed plates which are conventional have been eliminated from the drawings for the sake of clarity. Moreover, it is to be understood that the sectionally illustrated resonance chambers shown in the drawings have unillustrated components providing air-tight closures and tting them to housing walls which may not be illustrated.

Referring now to FIG. l, a keyboard 1 is schematically illustrated. Also schematically shown in FIG. 1 are the valve-operating transmissions including the schematically illustrated wires which are connected to the keys for opening and closing the valves in response to actuation of the keys. The structure includes a housing part of which is formed by the cover 2, this housing having a rear wall 3 and a front wall 4. Within the housing are situated the plurality of valves 5 which are controlled through actuation of the keys in a conventional manner, as pointed out above. Mounted within the housing is a first wall 6 which forms part of a first resonance chamber 9, and it is the wall 6 which is formed with openings which are respectively controlled by the valves 5. Situated at the openings of the walls 6 are the conventional reed assemblies 7, and the housing structure shown in FIG. l is connected to one end of a conventional bellows 8. Situated next to the conventional first resonance chamber 9 shown in FIG. l is the second resonance chamber 1t) of the present invention, and it will be noted that the first chamber 9 is defined between a pair of mutually spaced opposed walls which face each other, one of these walls being the wall 6 and the other of these walls being that Wall of the chamber 16 which is formed with the openings 12 which are controlled by the conventional slide valves 11. The openings 13 of the wall 6 have, in accordance with the invention, the same form and arrangement as the openings 11 and these openings 13 may, if desired, also be controlled by slide valves similar to the slide valves 11. A releasable fastening structure 14, such as suitable bolts and nuts, screws, or the like, is provided for releasably fastening the second resonance chamber 11i to a part of the wall 6 which is not occupied by the valves 5. It is to be noted that the wall of chamber 10 which is provided with the openings 12 is situated between the wall 6 and the outer housing cover 2, and the configuration of the chamber It) is such that it conforms to the space defined between the Wall of chamber 11i which faces the wall 6 and the outer housing wall 2, so that in this way the best possible use is made of the available space in the interior of the housing.

Furthermore, it will be noted that the resonance chamber 9 of FIG. 1 is inclined toward the front housing wall d.

Thus, with this construction by controlling the valves 11 is it possible to control the openings 12 so that they can receive, at the option of the operator, air from openings 13 aligned with the openings 12, when the corresponding valves 5 have been opened by actuation of the keys I, and thus the passage of the air from the openings 13 into corresponding openings 12 respectively aligned therewith will enable the second resonance chamber 1) to be used for further coloring the tones beyond the sounds produced vsimply by passage of air through the openings 13, and in this way the outstanding effects of the present invention are achieved.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, those elements which correspond to elements of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference characters. Thus, it will be noted that in FIG. 2 the first resonance chamber 9 is also defined between a pair of mutually spaced walls which face each other as was the case with FIG. l, but in FIG. 2 the resonance chamber 9 extends horizontally toward the front of the housing, and the cover 2 of the housing extends in front of the front wall 4 and it is this cover 2 which has a portion 17 forming not only an outer wall of the housing but also part of the second resonance chamber 10. The inner wall of the latter resonance chamber is formed with the openings 12 controlled by the slide valves 11 as was the case with FIG. l, and these openings I2 are arranged opposite the openings 13 controlled by the valves 5 which in turn are controlled by the keys 1 in a conventional manner, so that at the option" of the operator, as was the case with FIG. 1, the second resonance chamber 10 can be called into play or can be prevented from operating, by opening or closing the valves 11, so as to receive air which has passed through the openings 13 for further coloring the musical tones.

It is to be noted in particular that in FIG. 2 the first resonance chamber 9 extends almost up to a portion of the outer housing wall 2 which is formed with openings providing communication between the interior and exterior of the housing, and the right end of the chamber 9, as viewed in FIG. 2, is limited by a wall formed with openings 16 which are aligned with the openings in the outer housing wall and which are controlled by a conventional side valve 15, so that by actuating the latter valve it is possible to control passage of air from the chamber 9 to the exterior.

Thus, with the arrangement of FIG. 2 it is possible by actuating the slide valve 15 to control communication between the chamber 9 and the exterior so as to eliminate the influence of the chamber 9 whenever desired. In this way it becomes possible to control cooperation between the chambers 9 and 10 either by including the chamber 9 in the operation or by eliminating it, upon placing the chamber 9 in communication with the outer atmosphere, and thus a very wide range of nuances in the coloring of the musical tones can be achieved with this structure.

The first resonance chamber 9 which is shown in FIG. 3 also has in its interior the valves 5 which are controlled by the keys of the keyboard 1. In this case, however, the resonance chamber 9 extends toward the bellows 8. Thus, it will be note-d that the wall 18 which is formed with the openings 13 controlled by the valves 5 extends generally parallel to the rear wall 3 toward the bellows 8, and the end of the wall 18 which is nearest to the bellows is integrally connected with an extension which goes forwardly to the front wall 4 to which this extension is lixed. This latter extension is connected with the second wall 19 which defines the chamber 9 and which forms part of the additional resonance chamber 21 Iwhich corresponds to the additional chamber of FIGS. l and 2. This second resonance chamber 21 of FIG. 3 is formed not only by the wall 19 which defines part of the chamber 9 but also by the frame 20 and the additional interior wall 22 which is connected by releasable fasteners 23 and 25 respectively with the frame 26 and a rigid strip 24 carried by the wall 19. Because of the releasable connection 25 it is possible to make the wall 19 itself removable, and this wall 19 is received in grooves of the unillustrated end walls of the housing. At the connection bet-Ween the wall 19 and the extension of the wall 18 a sealing strip 26 is provided to assure air-tightness. The wall 19 is formed with the openings 29 of the invention which are aligned with the openings 13, and in addition the wall 19 is formed with a groove in Lwhich a slide valve 28 is guided for sliding movement. A suitable pin-and-slot structure which is unillustrated cooperates with the slide valve 28 to guide the latter for movement so as to control the openings 29, and thus it is possible for the operator to manipulate the sli-de valve 28 so as to control whether or not the additional chamber 21 will receive air after the latter has passed through the openings 13 so as to change the musical tones beyond the sound which they would conventionally have solely by passing through selected openings 13.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in this Case also the first resonance chamber 9 is defined in part by a wall 30 which extends toward the bellows 8. This wall 30 has an angular extension 31 removably connected by suitable fasteners 35 with a wall 32 which extends parallel to the wall 3G, toward the bellows 8, and which defines with the wall 30 the first resonance chamber 9 in which are housed the valves 5 which are controlled by the keys of the keyboard 1. It is this wall 32 which defines part of the second resonance chamber 21 of the present invention, and of course the wall 32 is formed with the openings 12 aligned with the openings of the wall 30 and controlled by the slide Valves 11 as described above. The wall 33 of angular cross section, as indictaed in FIG. 4, is removably connected with the wall 32 through the releasable fasteners 35, and suitable sealing strips 34 are situated at the connections between the wall 32 and the walls 30 and 33, to assure air-tightness. The chamber 21 is thus formed by the walls 32 and 33, and in addition this chamber is defined by part of a third wall 36 removably connected with the edge of wall 32 distant from the bellows and having a sealing strip 37 provided at its connection with the wall 32 also to guarantee air-tightness. It is to be noted that in this embodiment the entire second chamber 21 is spaced from the housing walls, and the part of the wall 36 which extends beyond the resonance chamber 21 up to the front wall 4, to which it is removably connected by suitable releasable fasteners, is formed with openings respectively provided with reeds 38 and controlled by valves actuated from keys at the keyboard 1, so that in this way the range of musical tones can be increased.

As is apparent from FIG. 4, it is possible in accordance with a further feature of the invention to arrange between the rear and front walls of the housing a larger number of alternating resonance chambers 9 and 21 Where the wall of the chamber 9 carries reeds and valves while the parallel wall of the resonance chambers 21 carry slidevalve controlled openings.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in this embodiment also the resonance chamber 9 extends toward the bellows 8. It is defined between the mutually spaced walls 39 and 40, the wall 39 being formed with the openings controlled by the valves 5 which are connected with the keys of the keyboard. In this case the wall 40 is an integral extension of an interior wall 41. The space between the parallel walls 39 and 40 is closed by an elongated closure wall 42 which carries the wooden insert 43 and which is releasably connected with the walls 39 and 4t) by any suitable removable fasteners such as the screws 44 and 45. FIG. 5 shows in dotted lines the reeds 46 and 47 which have been eliminated and are replaced by the second resonance chamber 48 of the invention, and this chamber 48 can be releasably connected through suitable fasteners with the wall 40 in the manner shown schematically in FIG. 5. The wall 40 carries the key-operated valves 49 operated by the same keys which control the valves 5, and thus in this case it is the valves 49 which control the openings 12. Thus, FIG. 5 illustrates how it is possible to eliminate a complete set of reeds and replace it with a resonance chamber 48 which can be called into play at any time by suitable actuation of the valves 49. The resonance chamber 48 extends along the entire length of the instrument and pro vides an effective replacement for the reeds 46 and 47. Thus, while the elimination of the second set of reeds from FIG. 5 deprive the operator of a certain amount of devices for achieving certain musical tones, this latter loss has been replaced with the possibility of achieving the new tone coloring of the present invention by combining the effects of the additional resonance chamber 48 with the tones produced by the manipulation of the valves 5. Thus, by giving the operator the possibility of using o1' not using the resonance chamber 48, it is possible to double the tone colorings which can be achieved from the instrument. Moreover, not only is there a saving in cost resulting from an elimination of the reeds 46 and 4'7, but in addition, the weight of the instrument has been reduced and it is easier to operate the instrument since less air need be supplied from the bellows in order to achieve the desired musical effects.

Thus, with the structure of the invention while the exterior appearance of a conventional instrument is maintained, nevertheless the operator is given the possibility of combining with conventionally produced tones the effects which are to be derived from the use of the additional resonance chamber, and experience has shown that in this way it is possible to achieve the most outstanding and unusual musical tones which are very pleasant and which heretofore could not be derived from instruments of this type.

What is claimed is:

1. In an accordion-type of musical instrument, a pair of mutually spaced, opposed walls facing each other and defining between themselves at least part of a rst resonance chamber, one of said walls being formed with a plurality of openings and carrying a plurality of key-operated valves for controlling said openings, respectively, and the other of said Walls forming part of a second resonance chamber and being formed with a plurality of openings respectively aligned with at least some of said valves, and control means operatively connected with said other wall for controlling said openings thereof.

2. In a musical instrument as recited in claim 1, a housing having an outer wall, said other wall being situated between said one wall and said outer housing wall and said second resonance chamber substantially filling the space between said other wall and said outer housing wall and including at least one additional wall iixed to said other wall and mounted on a part of said one wall which is not occupied by said valves.

3. In an instrument as recited in claim 2, said outer housing wall forming itself a wall of said second resonance chamber.

4. In an instrument as recited in claim 2, said first resonance chamber extending almost up to a portion of said outer housing wall, said portion of said outer housing Wall being formed with openings passing therethrough, and an additional Wall extending along said portion of said outer housing wall between the latter and said iirst resonance chamber and defining part of said iirst resonance chamber, said additional wall being formed with openings and carrying a control means for controlling the latter openings, so that the movement of air through said openings of said portion of said outer housing wall can be controlled for increasing the range of musical sounds which can be achieved.

5. In an instrument as recited in claim l, a tlexible bellows for operating the instrument, a housing connected to one end of said bellows and housing said resonance chambers, said iirst resonance chamber extending at its portion which is situated between said pair of walls toward said bellows and said housing having a front wall, said second resonance chamber being situated between said front wall of said housing and said other wall which forms part of said second resonance chamber.

6. In an instrument as recited in claim 5, an additional wall carrying and forming part of said second resonance chamber and extending from the latter to said front wall of said housing so that said additional wall has a portion situated between said second resonance chamber and said front housing wall, said portion of said additional Wall carrying at least one reed.

7. In an instrument as recited in claim 1, said openings of said other wall corresponding in their configuration and arrangement to said openings of said one wall.

8. In an instrument as recited in claim 7, said walls defining a plurality of resonance chambers each dened between walls carrying reeds and valves, on the one hand, and forming additional resonance chambers, on the other hand.

9. In an instrument as recited in claim 1, said second resonance chamber including at least one additional wall connected to said other wall and removably fixed with said one wall.

I0. In an instrument as recited in claim 1, a housing in which said chambers are situated, said housing having an outer wall forming a cover of said housing and said other wall being situated between said one wall and said cover, said second chamber substantially iilling the space between said other wall and said cover and said second chamber being removably fixed with said cover.

11. In an instrument as recited in claim 1, means removably mounting said other wall in the instrument.

12. In an instrument as recited in claim l, said second resonance chamber having a volume greater than that of said rst resonance chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,950,643 8/ 1960 Scherer 84-376 FOREIGN PATENTS 556,905 2/1957 Italy.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner` GARY M. POLUMBUS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ACCORDION-TYPE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, A PAIR OF MUTUALLY SPACED, OPPOSED WALLS FACING EACH OTHER AND DEFINING BETWEEN THEMSELVES AT LEAST PART OF A FIRST RESONANCE CHAMBER, ONE OF SAID WALLS BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS AND CARRYING A PLURALITY OF KEY-OPERATED VALVES FOR CONTROLLING SAID OPENINGS, RESPECTIVELY, AND THE OTHER OF SAID WALLS FORMING PART OF A SECOND RESONANCE CHAMBER AND BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS RESPECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH AT LEAST SOME OF SAID VALVES, AND CONTROL MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID OTHER WALL FOR CONTROLLING SAID OPENINGS THEREOF. 